The Uninspired Muses
by Sisterhood Of Traveling Kunai
Summary: Four girls start their own band after Ino leaves them for fame  ungrateful little... . Raikura, Hokura, Kazemi, and Reika, aka the Being Ninja Four. The Sand Siblings and Idate love the band. The rest...who knows what'll happen? T for Raikura's mouth.
1. Ino & The Floor

**The Being Ninja 4 are at it again… in the modern universe? Yes, that's right. They're in a band. A really cool band. That doesn't own Naruto. And neither do we. We don't do slavery, nobody owns him! *sobbing* HE'S HIS OWN PERSON! Ahem. Um. Well….. Naruto the anime and not the person belong to Kishimoto-sensei. Naruto the person belongs to the wonderful, wonderful world of anime. And all we own are a plotline, and 4 dang-cool characters! And a computer. And an iPod… and a different computer, and a different computer, and um… my cat. Yeah. So…. who wants a Being Ninja band-fic? *raises hand* ONWARDS!**

**HOKURA POV**

_"I quit," _a quiet but firm voice said.

It seemed like the world stopped.

Nobody was breathing.

The world seemed silent, until I finally broke the silence, saying, "You can't! Ino-chan, the band depends on you! You're our lead singer! Why would you do this?" I felt tiny tears pricking at my eyes.

"Because I found some place better. I'm done. You guys are all just hopeless nerds, who had the fame, and are disgusted by the fortune. If you guys wanna' keep being hobos, fine by me, but I want the high life! I want the drama! And hanging around with 4 weirdos who just play cards and tell stupid jokes isn't getting me anywhere! So goodbye, my so-called friends!"

None of us moved. How could we? Why would we? In some ways, Ino was right. We _were _nerds, and very proud of it. We _didn't _like the fame, because let's face it - fanboys aren't really that much fun! And we _didn't _want fortune for what we did. If we got money, that's great, but we didn't want to be Hollywood, Justin Beavers! **(A/N: OH. Burn, Bieber, burn.)** We just wanted to sing and play music, and do our stuff. I guess Ino was looking for more. Dreadful silence surrounded us.

I woke up, panting wildly. "Gah! Curse you!" I hissed under my breath, cursing my nightmares of the past, before falling out of bed. "_Itai! _I hate you so much, floor!" Soon after, my 3 friends - one of whom was my sister - and also roommates crowded in.

"What just happened, nee-chan?" My sister asked. "Ino and the floor are ganging up on me. Tell them that bullying isn't nice." I stayed in my position on the floor, nose being crunched on the hard wood. If you disregarded the nose part, it was actually pretty comfortable. Ha. Take that floor. I won't fall to your cruelness!

**THIRD PERSON POV**

Kaiki Raikura watched her sister, who was laying on the floor. After grunting insults at the floor for a little while, she stopped talking. Kazemi, Reika and Raikura exchanged glances. Hokura wasn't talking? Not usual at all. Of course, then she started snoring. Raikura rolled her eyes, dragging her sister back onto her bed, and walking back to her room. She hooked her earphones in, and continued listening to Evanescence. Reika trudged back to her room, before passing out. Kazemi went back to spacing out, forgetting to leave the room. She was roused from her reverie on nothing in particular by Hokura saying, "Booyah. I tricked them. Best way to avoid conversations. Evar! I deserve a medal."

Kazemi just smirked, saying, "You _do _deserve a medal. But believe me, it's not for your cleverness." With that, she walked away, leaving her "extremely clever" friend to figure things out for herself.

**RAIKURA POV**

I went back to my beautiful world of Evanescence. Amy Lee's beautiful voice rang out, making me believe that the world WAS okay.

...it wasn't, but don't tell me that.

Let me properly introduce me and my fellow band-mates. I am Kaiki Raikura. I'm seventeen and I. Love. Music. Yeah, I'm pretty obsessed with Evanescence, U2, Green Day and Katzenjammer. This band is also heavily influenced by these bands. I pretty much live for the band. I write a couple songs and play the guitar, and if needed, piano. I love piano music.

My twin sister's name is Kaiki Hokura. She has orange eyes, and is pretty much my opposite in most ways. She's hyper, and our other guitar. She also loves Evanescence, Katzenjammer and a lot of classical. She's seventeen, too, of course. Don't tell her this, but I also love her a lot. She can be annoying, though. She loves Rachmaninaff (a classical composer).

Kazemi is the anti-social of our little group. She's seventeen. We're all seventeen! She dyes her hair, and even I have to admit it look really cool. Aqua with silver streaks. She does drums. She listens to the Cranberries a lot, not to mention Evanescence and Green Day. Kazemi had problems with her mother, but she's been coming to grips with them, I think. She's the one most like me.

Reika... is Reika. She's an odd one, but we all love her. She plays bass, and is obsessed with David Bowie and Green Day. Her parents are Jashinists. Don't ask how she survived with her sanity intact. Reika also helped with the music writing. She likes sushi a lot, and also does herbal remedies and aromatherapy in the summer or when she has time. Her sense of fashion is... unique. Ino would say horrible, but I say unique.

Ino.

Hmmm. She's a complicated subject. We liked her, because she was the leader vocalist of our band, but then she just blew us all off, so we don't like her. And she hurt my little sister. Nobody does that.

Okay, okay, Hokura isn't really my "little sister", but she's three minutes younger.

But that's beside the point. She hurt my friends.

I know that I hurt, because she was my friend.

I know Hokura hurts because she's my sister and I can tell that crap.

I know that Reika is fairly p*ssed, because we're all hurting and Ino insulted her hat.

I think that Kazemi is hurt, because she's closed up more than ever.

I shook my iPod hard as it changed to "Hello" (Evanescence) and I did NOT need depressing music right now. It changed to "Imaginary", and I closed my eyes.

HOKURA POV

I wondered about what Kazemi said, and shrugged. I was too tired, and we had band practice tomorrow. The band needed us all to be better since Ino was no longer there.

I put my head back on my soft, warm pillow and fell back asleep.

Things would be better tomorrow.

REIKA POV

That crazy Ino had finally done it. I was beside my self with some emotion I didn't know what to call it. Hate? Anger? Actually, I was feeling pretty darn good. Adrenaline was pulsing through me, as that pig insulted my favorite hat, my black Fedora with the green ribbon, the one I wear at all band practices.

Was I sad that she left? My friends probably were. But me? I was feeling happy. But then I was guilty. All of my friends were sad, and that was probably the right emotion. I was the odd one. Raikura's songs were always more creative, Hokura's guitar riffs always more exciting. Kazemi's drums always made the crowd cheer. My bass was always the crowd pleaser. Ino.. Well, she could be good at the occasional time, but usually the background vocals soared above her's.

Settling down on my bed and staring at the ceiling, I thought, You know, I'm just thinking too cruelly about Ino. Was I sorry? Nope!

**POWER TO THE FEDORA! Hope you liked the chapter, and don't forget to review! Ja ne!**


	2. Black House

**Hello, everybody! Here's the next chapter. We changed the title to The Uninspired Muses, but to clarify Shinyz's question, the band's name is actually The Uninspired. The Uninspired Muses sounds better as a title, though. **

**Just to tell you, SilverEyeShinobi (author of the "band fic" that inspired this one, called "The Fifth Element") wrote some songs that we stole ideas from. Just Stay is heavily based on hers (and we give her all credit), but we changed some stuff around and made up some lyrics. Also, we stole Poprocks. But most of that is our creation. We just stole the title and some of the lines. The rest of the songs are our own creation. So the song you guys see here, Black House, is our song. COPYRIGHT. Yep. So if you WANT to use it, feel free, but give us credit because we created the song and we don't like plagiarism. SO SOME OF OUR SONGS BELONG TO SILVEREYESHINOBI AND ARE NOT OURS! Please don't sue us, SilverEyeShinobi! We don't want to lose money! And we don't own Bacchikoi. Dev Parade does. Curse them for not letting me buy it… or even blackmail it!**

**On to the chapter!**

**THIRD PERSON POV**

"O-NEEEEEEEEEE-CHAAAAAAAN! WAKE UP!" Hokura yelled, bouncing on her sister's bed. There was a sound of thundering feet and Kazemi ran into the room, rubbing her eyes, "Who's dead?"

"No one." Raikura's voice said tiredly, "Although I wish I was now. Smother me in a pillow, will you?"

Hokura bounced on the bed more, "NooOOOO! You're not allowed to die!"

Kazemi had a dangerous smirk on her face,"Okay, Raikura-chan." the aqua-haired girl shoved a pillow and held it down.

"MMPH! LEMME GO!" she yelled. She managed to pull the pillow off her face, glaring daggers at both of the intruding girls, "That wasn't meant literally!"

"Sorry, I don't understand sarcasm."

Raikura groaned and put her head back on her pillow. Her earphones had fallen out, so she put them back in. Her twin laughed loudly,"You can't go back to sleep! We have practice!"

"Watch me, Hokura."

Hokura literally pulled her out of bed. The older girl landed with a thump, "ITAI! WHAT THE F*CK, HOKURA?"

"STOP CURSING, ANEKI!"

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Reika shrieked, running into the room. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Reika-chan… why do you have hair-curlers in?" Hokura asked.

Reika sniffed,"Someone stole my special shampoo."

*sweatdrop *

"It was probably that b*tchy b*tch Ino…" Raikura muttered, rubbing her head.

"Well, if she's a b-word, than she's going to be b-wordy." Kazemi pointed out.

A Skittle flew out of no where,"Shut it, wise a**."

"STOP CURSING!"

"Jeez… fine…"

"ANYWAYS." Reika stressed,"We have practice and now we have to figure out who gets vocals now that Ino's gone. With my shampoo."

Raikura sighed,"Let's all change into everyday clothes and then talk it over."

**KAZEMI POV**

We had all changed. I, myself, was in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans with my hair loose. Reika was in a purple tank top with a green turtle on it, and cargo pants with her fedora, Raikura was in a red tank top and slightly low cut jeans, her black hair in a high ponytail, and Hokura was in black jeans and an orange t-shirt.

We all had black fingerless gloves on. It was pretty much our trademark. Everyone's gloves were slightly different. Reika's had grey stripes, Hokura's had orange swirlies, mine were plain black with black silk ribbons through them, and Raikura's had red and black lace at the bottom (not the fingers). We also had a matching set of black and white gloves, courtesy of the Kaiki parents.

…at times I wished my mother was just as overbearing and hyper into-their-children's-lives as Raikura and Hokura's parents. But other times, I merely pitied the twins.

See, my mother wasn't the best mother. She was always forcing me to be better. You may think that this isn't that bad, that all mothers want their children to be the best, but I HAD to be the best in her mind. It led to some problems.

But we were sort of getting over those.

**THIRD PERSON POV**

Raikura jumped on off the seat she was on, "Sooo… we need figure out who to dump in vocals."

*silence *

"Anyone? Helloooo?"

*silence *

"Come on, guys. We've gotta find out who gets vocals. Or should we find a new band member?"

"Um…" all of the other girls said.

Raikura rolled her eyes,"Seriously! It's going to take too long to find a new vocalist. So, who wants the part?"

"I know! How about we all play the instruments we want and sing the songs we want!"

Everyone turned to Hokura, evident shock over all their faces.

"W-was that you Hoku-chan?" Raikura choked out.

The orange-eyed girl nodded happily, "Hai, it was me, nee-chan!"

"Hokura, that may be the smartest thing you have ever said and ever will say."

Hokura grinned, "Arigatou!"

Everyone rolled their eyes, "Wooooow."

Kazemi smirked,"You just proved Raikura's point."

"Huh?"

They all sighed.

Raikura faceplanted onto the piano bench, only slightly trying not to fall asleep.

"Raikura, you don't happen to be falling asleep, do you?" Kazemi asked, smirking.

"N-no, of course not.. .zzzZZzz…" Raikura was rudely awakened by Bacchikoi coming from Hokura's iPod up to her ear.

"BACCHIKOI, BACCHIKOI BABY!" it rang out. Raikura groaned, rolling over. They all stumbled to their respective instruments, and played a song Raikura had written, called Black House. It had been written when she had broken up with her first boyfriend. A rather touchy subject, but she'd dealt with it fairly well.

"Who wants to sing?" Kazemi asked, plugging in the guitars and drums.

Raikura groaned again,"I might as well. Hn." D*mmit, I sound like Itachi-sensei...

The song began with a quiet solo for her. She whispered the lyrics, remembering the way she'd written them,"

_It's the middle of the night, and all is black_

_the stars, the sky, the grass_

_all is black."_

Kazemi tapped the drums gently, beginning the music. A small smile graced her lips, the darker songs made her happier. Raikura got her guitar ready (she had to sing and play guitar). Raikura no longer whispered, but sang in a quiet, pure voice,"

_And I don't see why you don't love me anymore_

_I can't tell the reason why_

_Is it because you changed your mind_

_or I'm so insignificant?"_

Kazemi started really pounding on the drums, sending sound echoing through the small studio. Reika and Hokura blasted the guitars in rather suddenly and loudly, creating the dark melody written a while ago, their backs to each other. At first Kazemi and Raikura thought it looked stupid when they did that, but they had been playing that way for so long that it felt natural. Once Reika had given an intelligent explanation involving vibrations, but had followed it up with a comment about nachos, so no one really remembered why. A single tear forever unshed glistened in Raikura's eye. She didn't cry much anymore. Raikura internally wept yet smiled, as she kept singing the chorus,"

_I feel the emotions swelling_

_threatening to overflow me_

_and they'll fill this room_

_and then they'll fill this house_

_this house where you shattered my dreams_

_to make it black."_

Her voice hit a low note at the "black". Hokura did a quick guitar solo for five seconds with her trademark riff, biting her lip in concentration. Raikura followed it up with her voice, quieter than before.

_"Every breath I take,"_

There was a pause, that the guitars quietly covered. Raikura closed her eyes for a moment.

_"Every moment spent, without you_

_hurtles me towards the fact_

_that I really don't like you anymore_

_Is that why_

_Is it?"_

Raikura held the note, feeling the strain on her voice as it got louder and higher. The guitars created their own little melody, everything increasing. Raikura had to multi-task and winced as she missed a note on her guitar. Everything got easier as the chorus kicked in again.

Hokura was pounding down on the guitar, strumming out a dark tune. Reika joined inwith a two second bass solo, they were playing in rounds. Kazemi continued her beat, her dyed blue and silver hair flying around her. Raikura breathed. Suddenly, the drums let up, and the guitar ceased as well. Raikura's voice was hardly over a whisper as she sang,

_"And I' m not disappointed_

_I'll let you escape."_

Each note on the last line dropped lower on the scale until she held a low note for a few beats. Hokura, Kazemi, and Reika really took over the song as Raikura took a gulp of water. There was a loud instrumental of heavy guitar powering up until they pounded at the ears in a beautiful hard rock kind of way, and then eased back down slowly to liquid. Hokura and Reika hunched over like true punk rockers as the volume and tune increased. Kazemi had to really concentrate on her intense, very awesome yet complicated drum solo and Reika let her bass vibrate out expertly. They were all smiling, now.

And then there was the sudden diminuendo **(italian for softer, it's a piano term). **Raikura and Hokura played their guitars gently, the drums playing softly. Everything stopped. Kazemi whispered,"One, two..." and then their chorus roared back into life, full power.

_"I feel the emotions swelling_

_threatening to overflow me_

_and they'll fill this room_

_and then they'll fill this house_

_this house where you shattered my dreams_

_to make it black,_

_black,_

_black."_

They let the guitars fade out, Kazemi playing the drums quietly, and Reika's bass finished.

They all chanted in beautiful harmony,_"Black house, black house. Black house, black house."_ with the first "Black house" being a little higher than the second. Kazemi hit a drum, and their song finished. Just a normal day for the Uninspired, right?


	3. The Radio

**Wooten, it's chappie 3! As usual, WE own the song(s) in this. So don't steal them without permission. Or just give us credit. We looooove credit. Ahem… so yeah, here's chapter 3! Introducing some new characters, that you all know, and BETTER love! Muahahahhahahaahahahahahaa!**

Far away from the green home of the four girls was Suna. Suna was hot and desert-like, though the people who lived there thought it was perfectly normal. Three such people were driving down a street in Suna at that moment. They were all in a vintage teal convertible, one girl and two boys. The girl was the oldest, sitting at the wheel of her beloved car. Sitting beside her was the youngest, a redhead who was staring out the window. In the back was crammed the annoying middle child, who was leaning forwards to talk to the girl driving.

"Temari, if you're going to be so antisocial, at least turn the radio on!" he complained.

Temari nodded, and flipped on the radio.

"...And The Uninspired are here with an important message, just after this song!"

Temari suddenly started grinning at her brothers. "Gaara, Kankurou, listen to these girls. There are five of them, and they're _amazing!_ Like, seriously amazing!" The middle child, Kankurou, rolled his eyes. "Yeah, they're probably just a bunch of prissy girls, doubt they're worth listening to."

"Yeah? Well they're also hot," Temari retorted.

"Really?" Kankuro asked, suddenly interested. Temari smirked. She knew how to get her brothers to listen to her. Gaara was still not responding though. "Just listen to one song, Gaara! They're so amazing!" Gaara shrugged, still staring out the window.

"Here we are with the Uninspired!" the announcer said. Hokura patted Reika on the back encouragingly, and Reika shot her a grin in return.

"Heya! Reika speaking! We have a big announcement to make. Ino, our lead singer, left. Her musical goals differed from ours, and so we've parted ways. Despite this, The Uninspired are continuing! We've now taken up all singing and playing different instruments, which is what we've always wanted. Best of luck to you, Ino! Now here's the Uninspired, revamped!" Reika stood back, and snickered. "Do you think I was too positive about it?"

Raikura shrugged. "Whatever."

Temari's jaw was hanging about a foot. "Ino left? Oh my Kami, that's gigantic!" She was silent as the song started.

"This is Rotting Tree, with Kazemi singing, Raikura on drums, Reika and Hokura on guitar!"

The music started. Kazemi took several deep breaths, and put her lips to the microphone. Hokura and Reika played several block chords on the guitar , and the song started.

"_The moon has gone down_

_but the sun has yet to rise_

_my cell phone's in the trash can_

_I don't want to hear your lies, anymore_," Kazemi sang quietly. Hokura and Reika continued their chord progression, as Raikura brought in the drums. She wasn't as experienced as Kazemi was, but she still enjoyed it.

"_I don't want to hear your promises,_

_telling me I have a soul_

_we all know that I lost it_

_and I don't grieve for it, anymore_." Gaara glanced at the radio. Her voice was really nice, and there was a lot of emotion in it. They would sound better, live, though.

"_Don't sing now_

_I know who I am_

_I'm hollow as a rotting tree_

_all made up of stone!"_ The instruments came crashing down with her voice as the chorus started. They all decreased greatly in volume as it ended, and Kazemi was practically whispering,

"_Silent,_

_as a winter's night_

_save for the wind's howling,_

_it doesn't scare me, anymore"_

"_Don't sing now_

_I know who I am_

_I'm hollow as a rotting tree!_" They started on an instrumental bridge, and you could practically feel that Reika and Hokura had glares etched onto their faces as they focused on the complex guitar pieces they had written. They gave out to the drums as Kazemi continued her singing and Raikura brought down the drumsticks on the cymbals hard."

"_Ceramics,_

_breaking,_

_on the floor_

_teacups clatter_

_and china plates crash._"

The music started quietly, and they increased in a grand crescendo through the next two verses.

"_My breath no longer caught in my throat_

_my mind no longer spinning,_

_your words won't take me,_

_they won't break me, anymore._

"_The TV has a hole in it,_

_the radio's been burnt,_

_the cell phone's in my trash can,_

_I don't hear the voices, anymore."_

Kazemi's voice shouted out the final chorus, and then slowly got quieter as the song wound to a close.

"_Don't sing now_

_I know who I am_

_I'm hollow as a rotting tree_

_all made up of stone._

"_I'm made up of stone,_

_I'm made up of stone,_

_as hollow as a rotting tree_

_all made up of stone._

_Because your words, I can't hear them,_

_anymore._" The song ended. Gaara and Kankurou were shocked at the quality of their music, and Temari was giddy with glee that the band was still as strong as ever. It dawned on her that they sounded happier, actually, without Ino.

"Hey, we're coming to Suna next week for a concert! Right outside the gate, we're gonna' raise the roof! Starts at 9:00, and we look forward to seeing you, Suna!" Hokura shouted, giggling.

"Sayonara!" the girls all shouted in unison, and the radio announcer started off on a rant about soap.

"We're going," Gaara decided. Temari looked over, "What?" she asked. "The concert next week, we're going to it."

Meanwhile, rather far away from dry Suna and green Konoha, a teenager named Idate was listening to the radio. "Hey aniki!" he called to his older brother Ibiki. "What?" Idate grinned. "I'm going to Suna next week!"

"What for?"

"Umm… business?"

He could practically feel his brother's glare,"Yeah, right. What is it, squirt?"

"Hey! Don't call me a squirt! I'm going on a business trip."

"Fine, fine. Just don't bring back any girls." Ibiki growled.

**BACK WITH THE UNINSPIRED**

That had actually been a recording from only a few hours prior to their song playing on the radio. It had been tuned slightly, as all studios required. The Uninspired hated the tuning, but it was necessary to have their songs playing. Their talking was live, though.

"I can't wait for next week! Suna's going to be so much fun!" Hokura jumped up and down, smiling. Raikura just smirked slightly at her hyperactive sister.

"We should write a song just for next week," she thought aloud, fingering the fountain pen in her hand. Kazemi, Reika and Hokura looked over.

"Sounds like fun! If we all write it, does that mean we all get to sing it?"

"Hai, Reika-chan!"


	4. The Concert

**Well whaddaya' know? We wrote Chapter 4! Whoop! Ok yeah. Here we have it, the big concert, at least part one. With our amazing songs. Are you excited? Well, you SHOULD be! Because amazing things are about to happen! As usual, the songs the band sing, we own 'em. Because we're just that awesome.**

A plane slowly descended into the Suna airport. A plane that contained 4 very important girls.

Hokura had her nose pressed against the window, marveling at the drastically different terrain.

Reika glanced uninterestedly over a SkyMall catalogue, occasionally circling the least useful, most expensive objects in the catalogue in red ink.

Kazemi and Raikura listened to Evanescence on Raikura's midnight blue iPod.

Several Suna citizens stopped to gawk as the four walked down the sandy street to their hotel. They didn't feel like taking a car, so they just decided to walk while a car brought all of their instruments and baggage.

Reika wore a pair of giant movie star sunglasses that obscured her bright green eyes, and waved occasionally at people. Hokura just blindly skipped ahead, occasionally stopping to wait for her sibling and best friends to catch up to her. Kazemi watched everything, observing the architecture and landscape.

"I like the way the buildings are built here. Very different from Konoha," she commented absentmindedly.

Raikura nodded, resting her hands behind her head and walking relaxedly. The hotel slowly loomed up in front of them.

Kazemi shoved her hands in the pockets of her black cargo pants. "This is it?" she asked skeptically.

The building wasn't much. It was 7 stories tall, and - what a shocker! - tan, just like the rest of the buildings in Suna. The sign was slightly dusty, like no one ever bothered to clean it, and read in slightly cheesy orange letters: "The Shukaku Hotel."

Reika shrugged. "We decided to go to a smaller place, because:

no press talking about our little…. Ino incident, shall we say?

we can splurge all of our budget here on the food."

Kazemi was still unfazed. "What's so special about the food here?"

Hokura stared dumbfounded at her,"Uh, hello? Kaze-chan? The Suna Chocolatier?"

Kazemi's eyes lit up with an excited glint in them. The Suna Chocolatier was known for some of the best chocolate in the all of the villages. "Sounds great!" she grinned.

**The Very Next Day, somewhere else in Suna… **

"Kankurou, do you mind getting your fat ass up?" Temari growled dangerously, stamping a foot. The brown haired teenager rolled over on his bed, mumbling about dangos and kittens. Gaara walked into the room behind Temari, arms folded across his chest.

"Kankurou, it's noon! Get _up!_"

Kankurou groaned, opening his eyes groggily.

"What do you want, woman?" he asked. Temari pulled at her hair in desperation.

"Kami-sama, Kankurou, you're almost as bad as Nara!"

"You mean Shikamaru, your boyfriend?"

Temari turned several shades of red,"He's _not _my boyfriend."

"Just keep tellin' yourself that, Temari, just keep tellin' yourself that."

His older sister glared daggers at him before saying, "Whatever. Sleep 'till 4 PM if you want. See if I care," before stomping out of the room.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "You really might want to get up. I made pancakes."

Soon Kankurou was left to his own thoughts, and his own drool. Pancakes…

No one would've guessed it, but Gaara was a bit of a pancake master. Every Saturday was dubbed Gaara-pancake-day, and Temari & Kankurou's skills were a far cry from the youngest sand sibling's mastery of the griddle.

Kankurou stumbled out of bed, and down the stairs into the kitchen, where Temari had set out some freshly cut fruit.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked at Kankurou. "Nice boxers, kid," she said before walking back into the kitchen.

He looked down at his pair of froggy-print boxers, before running back up the stairs. He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a black shirt before turning to go back downstairs. He then remembered the concert today: The Uninspired. He quickly also tugged out a leather jacket from his closet, pulling it on as he ran back downstairs.

"No sense looking like a bum around hot girls," he mumbled to himself.

"I'm so flattered Kankurou, but I'm afraid I don't return the feelings!" Temari stated, biting into a pancake drizzled in syrup.

A vein throbbed in his head and shouted, "Not you, dammit!"

Gaara, who had just sat down beside him, said, "Sorry Kankurou, but I'm not a girl."

"WHY IS THE WORLD GANGING UP ON ME?" he shouted. Temari and Gaara just laughed at him.

**Back with the Uninspired…**

Hokura was talking on the phone, with their agent, Shiranui Genma. "No problems getting the venue, right?"

"_Apparently some people were unsure about Ino leaving, but you're good."_

"Yeah we are. Mmkay, arigatou Genma-chan!"

"_I thought I asked you to stop calling me that…"_

"You did. I just ignored it! See you at the concert!" the brown-haired Kaiki sister clicked the cell phone shut, and wandered into the living room where her fellow band members were chilling.

"We're on! Booyeah!" she said, pumping a fist in the air for emphasis. A cheer erupted in the room. Reika made the final tweaks on a piece of scrap paper, and held it up for all to see.

"I give you… our new song!"

Raikura swiped the crumpled piece of paper from Reika's hands, earning a "hey!" from Reika, before reading it over.

"We are fine, fine people, are we not?" she said, grinning. The other three nodded.

Reika pulled on the finishing touches to her clothes for the concert, her fingerless gloves. She looked herself up and down in the mirror, quite satisfied with her appearance.

She wore a pair of black jeans, ripped at the knees. She wore a white camisole, with a light button-up purple short-sleeved shirt over it, left unbuttoned. She also had a green and purple striped scarf tied around her neck, and purple stud earrings. Her black hair was pulled into a spiky ponytail. She flashed herself a thumbs up, and skipped downstairs to polish her bass one last time.

Kazemi was thoroughly satisfied with her appearance. She wore a traditional japanese button-up shirt, the same light blue as her hair. A slightly darker blue dragon curved around the shirt, and up the back. To contrast that, though, she had her gloves, and a pair of black baggy cargo pants. She had part of her hair twisted up into a bun, the rest hanging loosely over her shoulders, and her drumsticks stuck in her bun. A signature look for the drumming genius. She mouthed the lyrics to 'Animal I Have Become,' leaning back on her bed.

Hokura was feeling proud as she strapped her guitar to her back. Her long brown hair was tied into a braid, and her orange eyes glistened with excitement. She fingered the swirls on her gloves absentmindedly. Her khaki pants were tucked into knee-high boots with several buckles on them. She wore a form-fitting forest green tank top, and a worn leather jacket, covered in scratches and nicks, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. For the final thing on her outfit, she snapped on a pair of aviator goggles, lord knows where she found them.

And finally, Raikura. She had all of her badass on at that moment in time. She wore a pair of skinny jeans, and a black t-shirt covered in red splotches that looked disturbingly like blood. Her gloves hugged her arms, and her fingers were painted alternating black, light blue, and blood red. Her hair, slightly damp from a shower, clung to her face in jagged locks that looked like they had been cut with a steak knife (and quite possibly had been), while bangs obscured her eyes. An intricate silver celtic cross pendent hung from a long chain around her neck. She cracked her knuckles and smirked at the door as her friends assembled around her.

"Bacchikoi." _**(A/N: Bring it on, for you sad people who don't understand basic Japanese :) )**_

**WITH IDATE**

Idate filed into the large amphitheater. He was clad in a red t-shirt with "THE UNINSPIRED MUSES" written on it in big letters. He'd purchased the shirt in a supermarket in Konoha. He was also wearing a pair of cargo pants and some sneakers. His brown eyes looked over the crowd in case there was anyone he knew. There wasn't anyone, so he headed right down into the mosh pit.

**WITH THE SAND SIBLINGS**

Temari had finally managed to drag Kankurou out of the house after he had consumed ten pancakes with strawberries, chopped nuts, whipped cream and syrup and two pieces of toast slathered with Nutella. Gaara had been waiting in the car patiently for about fifteen minutes at that point.

"You're gonna get fat, baka!" Temari yelled, grabbing Kankurou's ear and twisting sharply.

The teenager yelped in pain and made a few nasty faces of agony; Temari's fingernails were SHARP.

"Temari, stop abusing Kankurou, please." Gaara said.

"Right." the blonde let go of Kankurou's ear.

He glared and rubbed it, "That hurt."

Temari flipped him off, "Suck it up. You're a big boy."

"Hmph." he pouted and turned his head.

Gaara cast his brother a half-amused, half-annoyed turquoise stare. He could never understand his older brother's childish antics, but he always pitied him for incurring the wrath of Temari, be it on purpose or accidentally. Gaara was wearing a white t-shirt with a yin-and-yang symbol on the chest and Suna's symbol on the back, and a pair of jeans.

Temari was clad in a thin emerald-green t-shirt and a black mini-skirt. She had leather armbands on, as well. She gripped the wheel of the car and drove very fast and aggressively through the traffic of Suna.

When they got to the Sunagakure Concert Hall, Gaara gave her his pass so they could get good parking. Why he had a pass was the fact that Gaara was the governor of Suna, despite being underage. In Suna, no one really cared that much about age.

They pulled up next to a white Volvo, and got out of the car.

Kankurou jammed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, and put his classic little smirk that he knew the ladies swooned for.

Gaara cast a glance in his brother's direction and nearly rolled his eyes. His brother was such a player.

Temari wore another little smirk, but for a different reason than her brothers. She had got good parking for once.

They gave the guard their tickets and walked in right to the mosh pit. There were plenty of people there, already, and they were loud. Temari passed out earplugs for her brothers and popped in two for herself. They all had been to enough concerts to know that the music was a lot clearer with the earplugs, and their ears wouldn't ring afterwards.

"Are you ready, guys?" Temari asked, grinning madly.

"Yessir! Ma'am!" Kankurou saluted.

There was a yell that sounded suspiciously like, "YAY, MONEY!" and...

The stage lights flashed on.

**WITH THE UNINSPIRED**

Raikura paced back and forth, tuning her guitar and flexing her fingers. They were clad in her fingerless gloves, and she coughed a few times.

Reika and Kazemi were both standing at the edge of the door and stage, staring at the stage. On it, there was a piano, a drums set, the amps, a few miscellaneous instruments like a mandolin, a bass balalaika that was painted by Reika to look like a cat's head, an accordion, a melodica, Raikura's green and silver acoustic guitar, a banjo and a ukulele, and their microphones that were easily moved. That was important for their songs.

Hokura was snoozing, her head cushioned on the chair she was on.

"Girls, you'll be onstage in a few minutes!" called Kurenai Yuuhi. She was the sponsor of the Uninspired.

Hokura jumped six feet in the air when Raikura poked her, "WHAAAAA!"

Raikura sighed and whacked Hokura,"Come on, sleepyhead, the show's gonna start and you're first up. You're on for guitar."

Hokura slung the electric guitar over her shoulder and got to the door, rubbing some sleep out of her eyes,"Mm tired, nee-chan..."

"Suck it up. We're playing for money!"

"YAY, MONEY!" Hokura shrieked, making everybody wince.

"They can hear you out there!" Kazemi hissed, pressing a hand to her ear.

"Oops." the cheery brunette frowned faintly.

The stage lights flashed on, and Raikura shoved Hokura out.

"Aah! Nee-chan, that was mea- oh. OH."

The crowd laughed as the younger Kaiki stared at the crowd wide-eyed, just realizing she was on-stage.

"Hiya, everybody!" she yelled into her microphone, waving and bouncing exuberantly.

"Play something!" Reika whispered.

Hokura fumbled with her guitar and played a clear riff. The crowd screamed.

"Wow, are you guys really that easy to please?" Kazemi yelled, running onstage and starting to play a complicated drum solo that involved a lot of cymbals crashing, and drums just rolling and being hit super fast.

"WOOOOOOO!" the crowd cheered.

"Aw, you like her better? TAKE THIS!" Hokura screamed and played another riff that sounded even better than the first, and suspiciously like "Rock Me Like A Hurricane" by the Scorpions.

There was louder screaming. Hokura looked down and noticed a girl with four ponytails who looked really cool. She smiled and waved to her, "Hi pony-tailed girl!"

The girl screamed loudly, "HI HOKURA!"

"How do you know my name?"

"Hokura, everyone knows our names. It's our concert, goofball." the rather dry tones of Raikura came as she sauntered on-stage.

"Are you sure, nee-chan?" Hokura asked, but was drowned out by the cheering of the crowd.

The crowd went wild(er) at three of the four Uninspired onstage.

"And you think that _those _riffs were good? How's this, Suna!" Raikura landed on her knees and played the riff from "Am I Evil" by Metallica. She added her own flair and let the last note vibrate off with a distinct _WAAAAAAANNNNNN _noise before cutting it off with her pick.

Hokura pouted, "You promised you wouldn't use that riff, o-nee-chan!"

"Quit coming into my solo time, Raikura!" Reika yelled into a mic, having "sneaked" onto the stage during Raikura's solo. "WHAT'S UP, SUNAAAA!"

"WOOOOOOO!" the crowd yelled even louder. Reika's bass soloes were definitely the most loved.

"DO YOU WANT MUSIC?"

"Well, duh..." Kazemi muttered into her mic.

"Shut up, Kazemi!" Raikura said, smiling slightly.

"Well, DO YOU?"

"YES!" the crowd shrieked and screamed.

"WELL, YOU'LL GET SOME!" Reika yelled.

"WOO-HOO!" Hokura screeched.

"First, we're gonna do some solos! First up is... RAIKURA! With Heart Shaped Box by Evanescence. Well, technically it's by KoRn, but ya know..." Reika trailed off.

Raikura grabbed her acoustic guitar and went to the circular part of the stage. **(A/N: Imagine if you had an aerial view of the stage, it would be a "T" shape. Except the line going down was shorter and ended in a circle.) **She stood in front of her mic, lips near it, and then started to play the dark notes of the song. It was low and dark, and one of Raikura's favorite songs. She started to sing in a low and husky, but still pure voice, "_She eyes me like a Pisces when, I am weak._

_I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box, for, weeks..."_

The crowd screamed with excitement and the mosh pits were already bouncing. Raikura smirked slightly and continued her song, "_I've been drawn into your magnet tar, pit, trap._

_I wish I could eat your cancer when, you turn black..."_

Her voice hit a pretty low note and the guitar seemed to harmonize with it, playing a succession of purposefully shaky low notes. Raikura sang and made her voice more demanding,"_Hey! _

_Wait!_

_I got a new complaint! _

_Forever in debt to your priceless advice._

_Hey!_

_Wait!_

_I got a new complaint!_

_Forever in debt to your priceless advice... your advice!" _

The guitar played the normal melody for a few notes before her voice came back in, "_Ma-an eating orchids forgive no one just yet._

_Cut myself on angel hair and ba-by's breath."_

Despite the dark lyrics, her voice was still beautiful, but she quieted it for effect for the first few words, "_Broken hymen of your highness,_

_I'm_

_left_

_black..."_

Her voice hit a low note.

"_Throw down your umbilical noose,_

_so I can,_

_cli-imb right back..."_

She started with the chorus again, going through the first parts until the second "forever in debt", where she pitched the second syllable up a little more, held out the notes and played the guitar faster.

"_Forever in debt to your priceless adviceeeeee!_

_Your adviiiice!_

_Your adviiiiiiice!_

_Your adviiiiice."_

The song ended with her voice.

There were loud, ecstatic cheering. The crowd just exploded.

"Thank you!" Raikura yelled, pumping a fist in the air. "Next up is Kazemi, with our cover of "Stupid Girls!"

Kazemi smirked, and took her guitar and played the first few chords. She then started to sing, "_Stupid girl,_

_stupid girls,_

_stupid girls..."_

Reika banged on the drums a few times, and the song got into swing, literally, as Kazemi swayed her hips a little, "_Maybe if I act like, that!_

_That guy will call me, back_

_Porno Paparazzi, girl_

_I don't wanna be, _

_a stupid girl!"_

Kazemi smiled slightly, using her full, beautiful voice to full advantage, "_Go to Fred Segal,_

_you'll find them there,_

_Laughing loud so all the little people stare_

_Looking for the daddy to pay the champagne,_

_Drop a name!" _

She feigned dropping something and started to sing again to the joy of the crowd, "_What happened to the dreams of a girl president?_

_She's dancing in the video next to 50 cent_

_They travel in packs of two or three_

_With their itsy-bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees!_

_Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?"_

Kazemi exaggeratedly looked around, with a hand over her eyes to block out the light.

"_Where, oh where, could they be?"_

The chorus started up again, "_Maybe if I act like, that,_

_that guy will call me, back_

_Porno paparazzi, girl,_

_I don't wanna be a stupid girl!_

_Baby, if I act like, that, flipping my blonde hair, back!"_

Kazemi did a quick hair flip and flushed a little at the next line, "_Push up my bra like, that,_

_I don't wanna be a stupid girl!"_

The entire crowd (mostly men, of course) started nosebleeding as Raikura, Hokura and Reika proceeded to... well, push up their bras.

**WITH THE SAND SIBLINGS**

Temari laughed.

Gaara went a bright shade of pink.

And Kankurou... well, Kankurou was Kankurou and got a major nosebleed.

"KANKUROU! YOU PERV!" Temari squealed, whacking her brother upside the head. Kankurou winced and pinched his nose shut and leaned his head up.

**WITH IDATE**

Idate had turned away from the stage to tie his shoe, as it had come undone and he was tripping all over in the mosh pit, which was not a good thing.

He, then, got blood spurted on his shoulder and didn't get to see the girls being above PG-13.

"DAMMIT!"

**WITH THE UNINSPIRED**

All Kazemi could see was a lot of nosebleeding men. She blushed furiously, but kept on her singing, _"(Break it down now)_

_Disease's growing, it's epidemic_

_I'm scared that there ain't a cure_

_The world believes it and I'm going crazy_

_I cannot take any more."_

The music paused for a second.

_I'm so glad that I'll never fit in_

_That will never be me."_

She sang out, shaking a finger,

"_Outcasts and girls with ambition_

_That's what I wanna see_

_Disasters all around_

_World despaired."_

Kazemi grinned mischieviously and slid a hand through her aqua locks,"

_Their only concern_

_Will they **** up my hair!"_

She covered her mouth and said "freak", instead of the alternative that Raikura was mouthing. She then went through the chorus again. The four girls favorite part of the entire song came.

Kazemi faced Raikura and talked, "Oh my god, you guys. I totally had more than three hundred calories today!"

The raven grinned and answered, "That was so not sexy, no."

Reika laughed at Raikura, "Good one, can I borrow that?"

Hokura did a fake vomiting noise and then yelled in a hilarious voice,"I WILL BE SKINNY!"

The crowd laughed hysterically.

Kazemi then yelled at Raikura and Hokura to sing, because she was much too embarrassed at the next verse of the song.

The Kaiki twins smirked and sang,"_(Do ya thing, do ya thing, do ya thing)_

_(I like this, like this, like this)_

_Pretty will you **** me girl, silly as a lucky girl_

_Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!_

_Pretty would you **** me girl, silly as a lucky girl_

_Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!" _They ended on a yell.

**WITH THE SAND SIBLINGS**

Kankurou had to work even harder to keep his nosebleed at bay. _Those girls were REALLY sexy... _he thought to himself.

Not to mention, there was a random brunette chick who wanted to cling to his arm. Hey, he wasn't going to deny her his hotness.

**WITH THE UNINSPIRED**

Kazemi finished her song, singing the chorus twice. The crowd roared with applause.

"THANK YOU, SUNAAAAA!" she yelled.

Kazemi jogged backwards, and caught the drumsticks Reika tossed to her.

"Bet you aren't expecting this!" Reika grabbed her bass, and walked down the plank. She grinned maniacally, while Kazemi clacked the drumsticks together. Raikura, who was sitting at a synthesizer, started playing a couple almost techno-sounding notes. Hokura started strumming her electric guitar, and Reika started playing her bass.

"_Uh-uh-uh uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh," _Reika started singing the very few high-pitched notes of a very familiar tune.

"_Johnny's in America_

_No tricks at the wheel_

_Uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh_

_Nobody needs anyone_

_They don't even just pretend_

_Uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh_

_Johnny's in America!" _The guitar ramped up, getting louder and more powerful, as the cymbals crashed and Raikura played several harmonies on her synthesizer.

"_I'm afraid of Americans!_

_I'm afraid of the world_

_I'm afraid I can't help it!_

_I'm afraid I can't -_

_I'm afraid of Americans!" _At the classic chorus, the crowd started cheering wildly.

"_Johnny's in America_

_Uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh," _Despite it being originally sung by a man - David Bowie, no less - the song sounded very right, when Reika leaned back, staring towards the ceiling, with the third round of "uh"'s.

With every line, she took a step towards the edge of the crowd:

"_Johnny wants a plane_

_Johnny wants to suck on a Coke_

_Johnny wants a woman_

_Johnny wants to think of a joke,_

_Uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh," _Reika retreated, holding some garbled bass line for a bit.

"_Johnny's in America_

_Uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh,_

_I'm afraid of Americans!_

_I'm afraid of the Woorld!_

_I'm afraid I can't help it,_

_I'm afraid I can't._

_I'm afraid of Americans!_

_I'm afraid of Americans,_

_Uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh,"_

Reika's voice was hardly above a whisper as she cooed into the microphone,

"_Johnny's in America_

_Johnny looks up at the stars_

_Johnny combs his hair_

_And Johnny wants p***y in cars,_

_Johnny's in America, uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh,_

_I'm afraid of Americans."_

The chorus pumped up again, Reika practically screaming,

"_I'm afraid of Americans!_

_I'm afraid of the world,_

_I'm afraid I can't help it,_

_I'm afraid I can't -_

_I'm afraid of Americans!"_

The song took on a darker tone, and a more mysterious one too, as Reika started singing quietly, harmonizing with her bass:

"_God is an American," _her voice sent shivers down Idate's spine.

"_God is an American,_

_God is an American,_

_God is an American,"_

Her voice almost sounded like she was just talking, in a throaty almost-growl as it got louder:

"_God is an American,_

_God is an American,_

_God is an American…._

_YEAH, I'M AFRAID OF AMERICANS!" _the chorus returned full-force.

"_I'M AFRAID OF THE WORLD!_

_I'M AFRAID I CAN'T HELP IT!_

_I'M AFRAID I CAN'T-_

_I'M AFRAID OF AMERICANS!"_

The song finally died down, with Reika walking slowly backwards as the lights dimmed, singing,

"_Johnny's an American_

_Johnny's an American_

_Johnny's an American, uh-uh-uh uh, uh, uh-uh uh-uh-uh."_

When the lights returned full force, everyone was back in their original spot, and Reika was grinning madly… again.

"I'm Afraid of Americans, originally by David Bowie, how do you like that?" she called out, receiving lots of energetic screams. Idate in particular started shouting energetically.

"Okay okay, calm down. It's not like I just discovered the cure for cancer," she stated, receiving laughter. Everyone started moving around, and Hokura and Raikura positioned themselves behind the piano.

Reika sat down with a banjo in hand, and Kazemi stood behind a melodica. Raikura picked up a microphone, and started talking, emphasizing words with her hands.

"So, contrary to popular belief, Hokura is not _always_ a happy-go-lucky idiot."

"Yeah, there was that time that Flemming the turtle ran away. That was so sad…" Hokura interrupted, spacing out at the memory of a turtle. Raikura sighed.

"Okay, so maybe she is, but here's a song that isn't so happy-go-lucky. Lady Marlene, originally by Katzenjammer!"

Raikura started playing chords on the piano, deeply immersed in the music.

Hokura started playing a melody higher up, and the two swayed in time.

The melodica and banjo came in, and the four instruments played in perfect harmony.

Raikura started playing chords higher, and Hokura stopped playing altogether to sing softly.

"_Velvet and satin and dress so green…_

_Everyone's dancing but Lady Marlene,_

_Fear is the color of all that they wear,_

_Mother-of-pearl pallors pulls like her heart, of, stone."_

The mosh pit had all but stopped to watch the quiet music, as there was no dancing music.

"_Bloodstains so purple and teardrops of gold,_

_Icicle chandelier shining too cold," _Reika, Raikura and Kazemi joined in a chorus of "oohs" as the next line started:

"_Draped in red, in her masquerade,_

_Lady Marlene takes you hand and comprehends thee,"_

As the chorus started, Hokura sang full-power, and the other three sang melodic "aah"s along.

"_When, too, low_

_goes to the sky above_

_deep in despair they cry-_

_Where is the love?_

_Oh, the north wind, blows, goes to the sky, above,_

_deep in despair they cry-_

_Where is the love?"_

The banjo hummed through the quiet parts, with the melodica clicking lightly. As the next verse begun, it was only Hokura's dissonant voice mingling with Raikura's chords:

"_Flowers so rhetoric, flowers shall thrive,_

_pry much bear pain, but the price is too high," _The other three added dissonant noises to the mix, creating a racket that was only resolved when Hokura sang again.

"_Hanging your weight on extravagant fears_

_High and pale of the utmost in seeing as_

_The north wind blows, goes to the sky, above_

_Deep in despair they cry-_

_Where is the love?_

_Ohh, the north wind blows, goes to the sky above_

_deep in despair they cry-_

_where is the love? `_

_Oh-oh,_

_The north wind blows, goes to the sky, above_

_Deep in despair_

_where is the love?_

_Oh, the north wind blows, goes to the sky, above,_

_Deep in despair, where is the love?"_

Hokura stopped singing, and the music slowly let off, quieting down as it came to an end. The crowd stayed silent for several moments before cheering loudly.

**In Konoha, far away….**

One Uzumaki Naruto sat on a couch, slurping ramen while watching the television. He, along with two of his friends - Sai and Kiba - were watching the band "The Uninspired" through his age-old television.

Kiba pet his dog while watching, and Sai stared intently at the brown-haired girl, immersed in the midst of the music.

"You said you know these people, right d*ckless?" Sai asked.

Naruto growled, before saying, "Yeah. Raikura-chan used to be a girlfriend of Sasuke-teme's, and Hokura and I were pretty tight. We pranked the Hokage so many times, it wasn't even funny!"

"Actually, it was hilarious," Kiba commented.

Naruto shrugged.

**Back with the concert….**

"Okay, intermission-time, people! Go get some amazing food, buy your girlfriend a drink or something - bad etiquette to make a lady pay! And we have copies of our CD 'Smile' out there, and we have T-shirts! Who doesn't want a T-shirt?" Raikura said, laughing as she talked to the crowd.

"I've got five!" Hokura shouted, waving her hands. People laughed.

"Okay, now get out!" Reika shouted, waving off the crowd with one hand. People filed out of the theatre and into the room where there were refreshments and merchandise galore.

**WITH THE SAND SIBLINGS**

Kankurou took the black-haired girl's advice (he made a mental note to ask Temari what their names actually were) and bought some crap. He bought three t-shirts, one for the concert, one like Idate's, and another with the Uninspired's faces across the chest. He also bought their CD.

Gaara didn't go as full out, but he bought a t-shirt and another CD.

Temari went even farther and bought three t-shirts, two CDs (an EP, and their debut "Smile") and a lyrics book (complete with little side notes by Raikura and Ino).

In the course of one concert, all three had become fans (a third just even more of a fan than she had originally been.

**WITH IDATE**

Idate already had a t-shirt and the CD. He just went for getting a few Kit Kat bars.

**WITH THE UNINSPIRED**

The four girls trooped to their mini-fridge, pulling out Sprite and Coke.

"We were awesome!" Raikura yelled, bouncing.

"Yeah!" Kazemi and Reika agreed.

Hokura was much too busy glugging down a mix of Sprite and Coke to answer.

Raikura sweat-dropped, "You're gonna be so hyper, Hokura."

"Urusai, nee-chan." she managed to get out through the bubbles coming out from her nose.

The intermission was only a few more minutes before they got back on stage.

"Hello again, guys!" Raikura waved.

"Thanks for those of you who bought our stuff! Much obliged! That lets us buy crap!" Kazemi shouted.

"Anyways... we have some more songs before we go! Here's Pyromania! This one's dedicated to one of the best friends of my teacher slash big brother persona!" Raikura yelled, winking to the camera. He knew who he was.

**WITH (YOU GUESSED IT (NOT)) THE AKATSUKI**

Ten people were crushed up onto one couch in someone's flat watching the concert from a big screen TV.

"Move your a**, Kisame!" Kakuzu snapped.

"Hey, hey! I'm squished into Konan enough as it is! Pein's giving me a scary glare!" the blue man complained.

"That's it..." Konan sighed, and moved to sit on the orange-haired man's lap, provoking cat-calls from Hidan. There was a sigh from the "teacher slash big brother persona", Itachi, and he smacked the silver-haired man's head.

"Ha ha! I have a song dedicated to me, un!" Deidara shouted.

"Shut up, Deidara." Sasori groaned.

"Aw, but danna-"

"What did he tell you? **Honestly..."** Zetsu complained.

**BACK AT THE CONCERT**

The crowd screamed at the mere mention of the song. The lights flashed on and off, and the gentle guitar started the song. Raikura started off singing,"

_A million glints_

_A million lights_

_They're all glowing in the night."_

The guitar increased rapidly, and Kazemi slammed the cymbals and made the pace of the song move faster,

"_They will play,_

_off the shadows,_

_they will play into your eyes..."_

There was a pause in singing and guitar for two beats, where Raikura closed her eyes, and waited for everything to burst. Kazemi hit the drums... one... two...

"_It's on fire!_

_On fire!" _ The guitars just burst in, with the bass, obliterating everything except Raikura's screaming vocals with fast and hard chords and psychotic twistings of notes. Kazemi's drums just managed to make it not random chaos.

_Running off the deep end,_

_people ev'ry where are screaming_

_screaming_

_screaming." _Raikura grinned at hearing the crowd singing along with her, and bouncing. The mosh pits were full of crowd-surfing fans.

"_But what of you?_

_When the smoke,_

_makes it hard for you to see,_

_will you cry,_

_with the rest of them,_

_or will you raise your arms in joy?" _The guitar eased off for a second and Kazemi and Reika took the stage for five seconds of solo. It was full again of vibrant and hard rock riffs and notes again.

"_It's on fire!_

_On fire!_

_Oh-oh," _the entire band harmonized this part of the song, giving it a little more order.

"_Can you feel it?" _Raikura sang this part rather high, with Hokura singing the note under it for discordance and smirked internally. Ino could never sound as awesome as Raikura and Hokura's harmony did.

Far away, on that cramped couch, much to the dismay of the red-head and raven next to him, a certain blonde pyromaniac threw out his arms and sang with the music,"

"_This is..." _ the drums built up, and Raikura and the rest of the Uninspired hunched over like true punk rockers, hair flying on their instruments.

Raikura let out her best rock scream EVER and pumped a fist into the air, "_PYROMANIA!_

_Pyromania!_

_P-p-p-p-pyro_

_P-p-p-pyro_

_p-p-p-pyro_

_Pyromania!"_

The blonde's friends managed to gag him and stop him singing. The price to do this was Sasori had to sit on Deidara's lap and stuff a sock into his mouth, while Itachi twisted his hand behind his back. Konan and Pein had big sweatdrops.

"_A million lights,_

_form one inferno in your eye,_

_A million glints,_

_the sparks go off into the night_

_It's on fire!_

_On fire!_

_Oh-oh_

_Can you feel it?" _The beat and music thrashed and just escalated to an entire new level of rock with the other three Uninspired screaming in the background.

Raikura bent to get better volume and flipped her hair, and walked out on the long part of the stage,

"_Pyromania!_

_This is," _the drums, guitar and bass hit one chord for every part of the word.

"_PY_

_RO_

_MANIA!_

_Cast away your dreams!_

_Cast away your memories!_

_Cast away that yesterday!_

_All you have is fire,_

_burning in front of you._

_It's fire in your heart, leaving ashes of no memories!_

_It's fire in your eyes, as you stare at the world unemotionally!_

_It's fire at your feet,_

_in front of you,_

_taking your mind away!" _Raikura missed a note on the guitar, but got swiftly back on track. Kazemi smiled slightly at her.

_Do you even see it?_

_Smoke, it's in your eyes!_

_But the fires keep on waking_

_your dulling mind again!_

_See it blow up in the sky!_

_Explosions, see 'em!" _

Despite the sock in his mouth, Deidara still cheered rather loudly for this line.

"_My oh my!" _the music stopped and the entire band sang this part as well.

"_It's on fire!_

_On fire!_

_Oh-oh_

_Can you feel it?"_

All of the band, especially Raikura's faces were flushed bright red at the pure energy this song took. She took a deep breath, ignoring her slightly hoarse voice.

"_This is... PYROMANIA!_

_Pyromania_

_P-p-p-pyro_

_P-p-p-pyro_

_P-p-p-pyromaniaaaaaaa..." _the note Raikura held went up and then down, and she held it. She then let it echo and fade out.

The crowd - especially the more wild ones, cheered uncontrollably for a little while, before finally stopping.

"Alright, let's take it down a couple notches…" Kazemi said. Hokura took the drumsticks from her, and sat back in the seat.

Kazemi stepped up to the microphone, and Raikura took a grateful seat at the piano, taking a quick gulp of water at the conveniently located little cup.

"We're now going to play the song our CD is named after: Smile!" Kazemi declared.

The crowd cheered and relaxed a little.

Raikura whispered the beat quietly, and Kazemi's voice started as soon as the music did, "Shadows spread on an endless ocean

on a

dark night,

There's no light."

The gentle piano continued for a few beats, and then Kazemi's voice sang quietly and beautifully,

"And the world goes spinning on

As if nothing was wrong

But in your reality..." she began the chorus, smiling slightly,

The sun don't shine on me-e-e-e

dear

'cause I'm lost

As monsters rise out of my world

I stand to face them." the notes smoothly integrated into the music Raikura was playing as she swayed from side to side.

"Smile honey

because some of us have

forgotten how..."

Lights from cell phones and cigarettes were waving back and forth to the gentle tune.

"So hold that candle to the mirror

let it spark

and grow

and multiply-y-y,

so the stars don't have to shine

but the darkness grows to liiiight." Kazemi hit a pretty high note. Gaara's eyes closed. She was very talented, he though.

They played the chorus again. There was then a little instrumental in which Raikura played the piano. Reika let a little bit of bass rush in like a cool wind.

"And the world goes spinning on,

as if nothing was wrong..."

Raikura's hands stopped moving, and Kazemi had a little solo,"

So smiiiiile, and remember..."

The music came in again," The sun don't shine on me-e-e-e,

dear,

'cause I'm lost as monsters rise out of my world

I stand to face them,

Smile honey,

because some of us have forgotten how."

She sang the first verse again, and then the chorus twice.

"Some of us... have forgo-otten..." there was no music for a few seconds, and then Raikura played a sequence of notes going up the scale.

"Howwwwwww..." two more notes as Kazemi kept the note, and then the song ended.

The crowd applauded and yelled with pleasure at the song.

"Next up is Hokura with "Today I'll Sleep!"" Kazemi yelled.

Hokura stepped up, with a happy grin on her face, "I love singing!"

There was some snickers and a lot of laughter.

"Right then." Hokura sat down at the piano, shoving her sister off the bench. Raikura nearly fell, but grabbed Kazemi. Kazemi staggered for a few steps, but caught herself.

The crowd laughed harder.

"Gee, thanks, Hokura-nee." Raikura muttered, glaring a little. She picked up her green guitar and started to play quiet, slow chords. Hokura played some little piano notes to accent the guitar.

This went on for about twenty seconds, and then Reika played a chime, clear and high. Hokura started to sing, "_Starlight_

_Star bright,_

_black droplets_

_dark tears_

_I don't want to go away." _Hokura's voice was high and full with emotion. It was clear like a brook on summer's day, and just as refreshing. It was still rather dark, though.

_When dawn fades to day,_

_don't make me wake up_

_because reality is far too cruel,_

_today I'd ra-ther sleep." _she sang quietly, and made her voice just float on the air. The guitar and piano got a little darker, as did the chimes, and Kazemi started to play gentle drums to accent all of the music and establish a beat. The drums sounded like rain pattering against a windowsill.

"_Grey clouds_

_an ashen abyss_

_no bright blue sky_

_no cheerful bliss." _her voice got darker, lower and a little huskier, her brown hair falling in her face as she sang. The notes were lower on the scale than before.

"_Just the coldest truth given to you._

_When dawn fades to day,_

_don't make me wake up." _Reika sang a little bridge of "ooh" that stayed on one note, went up one note higher and then went back down to the original.

"_Because reality is far too cruel,_

_today I'd rather sleep._

_Cold cereal_

_old milk_

_alarm clock blaring." _The chimes rung twice and then were silenced.

"_No warm water_

_who's morning is this?_

_Don't make it mine."_

The music got progressively quieter as the song ended,"

_When life fades to death,_

_don't drag me down through the ocean with you_

_waking up is far too cruel,_

_today I'd rather sleep." _

The crowd was cheering, but crying. It was such a pretty, but sad song, Kazemi reflected.

"Okay, so we're gonna stray just a _teensy-weensy_ bit away from the depressed spirit, got it?" The crowd cheered again in response, and the people who cried quickly wiped away their tears.

Kazemi picked up a tambourine, Reika held her bass, Hokura had her guitar, and Raikura was at the piano. Reika plucked a few notes on her bass, and Kazemi started hitting the tambourine.

"_Let me hear you say hey, hey, hey!" _Reika shouted.

"HEY HEY HEY!" the crowd called back.

"_Alright… now let me hear you say HEY HEY HO!"_

"HEY HEY HO!"

Reika plucked a few more notes, before waggling a finger, and saying in a complaining tone of voice,

"_I hate it when a guy, doesn't get the door,_

_Even though I told him yesterday, and the day before,_

_I hate it when a guy doesn't get the tab_

_and I have to pull my money out and that looks bad."_

"_Yeah," _Hokura added in the background.

Raikura came in on the piano as Reika sang,

"_Where are the hopes?_

_where are the dreams?_

_My Cinderella story scene,_

_When do you think they'll finally see?"_

_That you're NOT, NOT, NOT gonna' get any better!_

_You WON'T, WON'T, WON'T, you won't get rid of me, never!_

_Like it or not, even though she's a lot like me,_

_We're not the same!_

_And yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a lot to handle_

_You don't know trouble, I'm a hell of a scandal!" _She shouted.

"_Me, I'm a scene, I'm a drama queen_

_I'm the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen!"_

The crowd cheered at Reika's rendition of Best Damn Thing as Hokura and Reika shouted,

"_Alright, Alright, Yeah!"_

Reika started on the next part, once again complaining, saying

"_I hate it when a guy, doesn't understand_

_Why a certain time of month I don't wanna hold his hand!"_

"_Nuh-uh!" _Hokura added.

"_I hate it when they go out and we stay in._

_And they come home smelling like their ex-girlfriend!"_

"_I found my hopes, I found my dreams,_

_My Cinderella story scene,_

_Now everybody's gonna' seeeee…_

_That you're NOT, NOT, NOT gonna' get any better_

_You WON'T, WON'T, WON'T, you won't get rid of me, never_

_Like it or not even though she's a lot like me_

_We're not the same!_

"_And yeah, yeah, yeah I'm a lot to handle,_

_You don't know trouble, I'm a hell of a scandal_

_Me, I'm a scene, I'm a drama queen,_

_I'm the best damn thing that your EYES HAVE EVER SEEN!"_

People chuckled as they started the next part.

"_Give me an A!" _All four chorused.

"_Always give me what I want!" _Reika sang alone.

"_Give me a V!" _All four.

"_Be very very good to me!" _Reika shouted.

"_R!" _This time the crowd joined, too.

"_Are you gonna' treat me right?" _Reika asked the crowd.

"_I!" _Everyone.

"_I can put up a fight!" _Reika hollered.

"_Give me an L!" _Raikura, Kazemi and Reika sang.

"_Let me hear you scream LOUD!" _Reika pumped a fist in the air.

"_Let me hear you scream loud!" _Hokura echoed.

"_ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" _All four led into it getting quiet as Reika played the bass, singing,

"_Where are the hopes, Where are the dreams_

_My Cinderella story scene_

_When do you think they'll finally seeeee?"_

"_That you're NOT, NOT, NOT gonna' get any better,_

_You WON'T, WON'T, you won't get rid of me, never_

_Like it or not, even though she's a lot, like me_

_We're not the same!_

"_And yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a lot to handle,_

_You don't know trouble, I'm a hell of a scandal_

_Me, I'm a scene, I'm a drama queen,_

_I'm the best damn thing that your EYES HAVE EVER SEEN!"_

The music died down for a bit, so that Reika could shout,

"_Let me hear you say hey hey hey!"_

"HEY HEY HEY!" The crowd shrieked.

"_Alright, now let me hear you say HEY HEY HO!"_

"HEY HEY HO!"

"_Hey hey hey! Hey hey hey! Hey hey hey!" _Raikura, Kazemi and Hokura sang, leading up to Reika falling to her knees to shout,

"_I'M THE BEST DAMN THING THAT YOUR EYES HAVE EVER SEEN!"_

The crowd cheered loudly, with fist pumps and the occasional lighter, as Reika stood up, brushed off her pants, fixed her scarf, and walked back to where everyone else was, away from the bridge in the front.

"Hey hey hey! Reika-chan, stay there!" Raikura yelled.

Reika's eyes gleamed, "Oh. Right, then!" she turned.

"Three, two, one..." Guitar blasted in.

Raikura started her one of her favorite songs of all time, Shut It Up by MSI.

"_T_he bass, the rock

The mic, the treble

I like my coffee black

Just like my metal!" There was a cracking noise, and Reika sang next.

"The bass, the rock

The mic, the treble

I like my coffee black

Just like my metal!"

Raikura sang again, "I can't wait for you to knock me up

In a minute, minute

In a f*ckin' minute!"

"I can't wait for you to knock me up

In a minute, minute

In a second!" There was a pause in the music and then the two girls started to dance and sing,"

"I can't wait for you to shut me up

And make me hip like bad a**

I can't wait for you to shut me up

Shut! It! Up!" they screamed.

"I can't wait for you to shut me up

And make me hip like bad a**

I can't wait for you to shut me up

Shut! It! Up!"

They then took turns singing the next verses,

"The bass, the rock

The mic, the treble

I like my coffee black

Just like my metal

The bass, the rock

The mic, the treble

I like my coffee black

Just like my metal!"

Raikura danced to the left of the stage as Reika ran to the right, both still singing in turn

"I can't wait for you to knock me up

In a minute, minute

In a f*cking minute!

I can't wait for you to knock me up

In a minute, minute

In a second!

I can't wait for you to shut me up

And make me hip like bad a**

I can't wait for you to shut me up

Shut! It! Up!

I can't wait for you to shut me up

And make me hip like bad a**

I can't wait for you to shut me up

Shut! It! Up!"

There was an amazing instrumental of techno sounds and the guitars and bass.

"I don't find it funny right now (right now)

Just want my ma-ma-ma-money right now (now)

I'm on my way to the party right now (right now)

I don't find it funny right now (right now)

Just want my ma-ma-ma-money right now (now)

I'm on my way to the party right now (right now)

Because the brink, the brink, the brink!

I can't wait for you to shut me up

And make me hip like bad a**

I can't wait for you to shut me up

Shut! It! Up!

I can't wait for you to shut me up

And make me hip like bad a**

I can't wait for you to shut me up

Shut! It! Up!"

There was a whipping sound, and the song ended. Everybody cheered.

"Thank you, Suna! You guys are awesome!" Reika yelled.

It was now Hokura and Kazemi's turn. Hokura pulled out the accordion and started to play. The guitars came in, playing a rather happy and fast tune.

Everyone in the crowd sang along with Hokura, "_I'm standing on the sidewalk_

_black hat in hand_

_a pair of ripped jeans on_

_it's not like any-body cares."_

The drums kicked in, playing an increasingly fast tempo with a lot of rolls and staccato beats.

"_I look around with my eyes_

_and walk across the street_

_a guitar case under my arm_

_beggin' for a little play."_

There was a little break, and then the electric guitar slammed in like a wall and the two sang even louder, "_It! _

_Shouldn't be Sun-day!_

_Oh, no, it shouldn't be Sunday!_

_The weekend's gone by and_

_all I've got is life,_

_It shouldn't be Sunday!"_

It was Kazemi's turn, and she started to sing after a little instrumental break for the drums, "_A woman passes me by_

_giving me a little look,_

_I guess she's wonderin' why_

_a girl like me all alone, _

_a street musician true."_

There was banging of feet and clapping of hands as the beat slowed a little and then quickened, the guitars following suit.

"_But my band is right behind, and that's what's really true!"_

Kazemi sang the chorus, and then Hokura joined her in the second chorus. They sang the entire song through as a duet again, and ended a cappella.

"_It... shouldn't be... Sun-dayyyyy!"_

Everyone screamed.

"Thank you Suna! We have one more song, a brand new song that no one has ever heard before! YOU GUYS GET TO HEAR IT!" Raikura yelled.

"WOOOOOO!" the crowd yelled.

"It'll be the last song of the night! YOU ROCK, SUNA!" Kazemi shouted.

The song that the Uninspired had just written two days before started to play. They would all be singing a verse. Kazemi was on drums, Raikura and Hokura were on guitars and Reika on bass, their classic combination.

Kazemi started the song, leaning into the mic as she played her instrument, "_If there's a third world, I must be in the second_

_seems I'm neither here or there._

_Living on the stair that's neither up or down,_

_Sometimes wondering how long I'll be around._

The guitar became heavier, almost shock-waves of rippling liquid music. The bass added that little oomph, and, the drums seemed to sizzle, giving a beautiful metal feel to it all.

They all sang in perfect harmony, "_I'm shedding crimson tears and crystal blood_

_The ice is on fire_

_and the stone's turning to mud_

_and I can't put my finger on what's real life and what's not."_

Hokura got the bridge, "_The world is changing, turning slowly_

_And I wait to see what it will revert back to..."_

There was an instrumental break and then the music built up slowly to create a mushroom cloud of pure rock.

Raikura sang the second verse, sharing the first few lines with Hokura, "_Your comfort zone where everything is in constant change_

_And the world is a kinder place_

_and everybody gives a damn if you live or not_

_I'm, breathing water and drinking air_

_because you made my world topsy turvy."_

They all sang the chorus again, and then Reika got the last verse, "_Because this world you made me, _

_it's a crazy limbo,_

_my life here's all akimbo_

_and though it should be hell_

_I'm starting to think that I like it..."_

The song ended with Hokura cutting the song off with a long vibrating chord that Raikura backed up with a few little notes.

There was absolute silence in the stadium, and then the cheering just burst out.

All of the girls yelled their thanks.

"Thank you Suna! We hope to see you guys again soon! You rocked!" Hokura yelled.

"Thank you!"

"Thanks!"

"See you guys again!"

They exited offstage.

"Damn, we sounded good." Raikura sighed.

"I agree whole-heartedly." Kazemi nodded.

Reika, Raikura, Kazemi and Hokura quickly changed out of their costumes and into street clothes. The group quickly ran outside, avoiding any possible fanboys, and preparing to make a dash for their plum-colored van, with Genma at the wheel.

Suddenly, without warning, Raikura felt a large pressure on top of her, and toppled over. "Meep!" she squeaked from under the large weight.

Kankurou, Temari and Gaara had been walking away from the concert, marvelling at the fantastic performance, when Kankurou tripped on his own foot and fell unceremoniously on top of a girl.

"Meep!" the girl shouted before kicking Kankurou in the one place no man wants to be kicked.

Hard.

Prone with pain, Kankurou had to be dragged off of the girl by his siblings. Temari looked the poor girl in the eyes, planning to apologize for her clumsy brother, when she realized who the girl was.

"Ohmikami you're the band! I love you guys!" she squealed.

Kazemi slapped a hand over Temari's mouth before she could continue,"Urusai! If anyone hears you, we'll be attacked by fanboys!" A shiver ran down her spine as she said that.

Temari quieted down immediately, so Gaara took the initiative.

"Gomen nasai for my brother. He's a clumsy idiot."

Kazemi smirked, Hokura burst out into a totally random fit of giggles, and Raikura nodded, "He looks the part."

Kankurou pouted for a moment, but soon his pervy self returned, "And you look really, really-"

"Don't say it," Raikura interrupted.

"Why not?"

"Just don't. Don't wanna hear it." Kankurou sighed, and Raikura just chuckled.

"Ano, onee-chan?" Hokura poked her sister in the shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Where is Reika-chan?" Raikura and Kazemi looked around. She was nowhere to be found.

"Reika?" Raikura asked, looking for her behatted friend.

"REIKA! WHERE ARE YOU?" Kazemi shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Did I hear my name?" Reika asked, wandering out of the building next to a black-haired boy.

"Where the f*ck have you been? We were scared half to death!"

"Language, Nee-chan!" Hokura slapped Raikura over the head.

Reika shrugged, smiling. "I was just having a marvelous conversation on the importance of umbrella safety with this bloke! I'm going to a café for tea and biscotti with him tomorrow, hope you don't mind me missing that band practice?"

Hokura grinned deviously. "Anything for you and your _date_, Reika-chan! Besides, we deserve a day off! I haven't slept until noon in AGES!"

"You mean yesterday?"

"Yes. That was a long time ago."

During the course of the conversation, Kankurou managed to slip his phone number on a piece of scrap paper into the back pocket of Raikura's jeans without her noticing. Oh, he had skill.

"We better get going. Fanboy at 6 o'clock, in the bush," Hokura stated militaristically.

"Hai. Move out!" Raikura shouted, and the four of them sprinted to their van, loaded with instruments and the long-forgotten remnants of bags of potato chips and Cheez-Its.

Idate, Gaara, Kankurou and Temari were left there, dumbstruck. An angry voice resounded from the van:

"What's this in my jeans…. UGH! A NUMBER! AND I WAS WEARING _**SKINNY JEANS!**_"

Temari turned on Kankurou, bristling. "Kankurou…"

The brown-haired pervy teen had enough sense to sweatdrop, stammer out an apology and then run screaming to the car with a furious Temari running after him.

"YOU'D BETTER RUN!"

**IDATE POV**

Whoa whoa whoa. Back up a bit. That girl's name was Reika. She had black hair. Her friends said "the band." Oh snap, I just asked a famous band member out to lunch! My thoughts were flying a mile a minute as I walked back to the Suna Inn I was staying in. Once or twice I saw Reika fanboys sobbing or trying - and failing - to send my venomous death glares. I hoped lunch wouldn't be too awkward, now that I knew

who she was. Say, what the heck is umbrella safety anyways?

**TEMARI POV**

Oh. My. Freakin'. Kami. I MET THE BAND! After an amazing concert, despite the fact Ino left, and they talked to us! *squealing* But did my brother have to be such a perverted womanizer and try to get Raikura to go out with him? Especially with that nasty break-up with Sasuke (**A/N: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PLOT POINT. FEAR IT! RAWR.)**_, _too. Hell, does he even know her name?

But I met the band!

**GAARA POV**

Those girls were pretty good. I liked the music, though I would never admit to Temari that she had actually turned me on to a band. The girl Kazemi was the one who had been singing the first song I heard. Her hair was dyed crazy colors, but it wasn't at all ugly. She was actually pretty cute - hold it. Did I just think that? Kankurou must be rubbing off on me.

**KANKUROU POV**

Temari wasn't kidding when she said those girls were hot. I hope that black-haired chick (Damn, I don't remember her name. Note to self, ask Temari) calls me, she was damn pretty. However, she looked like she could pound me to a pulp. Ouch. And that kick... whoa. I'm not sure if I'm scared by her or turned on. Maybe both. But she was smokin' HOT!


End file.
